by Tara Randel
“I don’t like the secrets, Serena, but I think I can better understand why keeping quiet was the best course of action. I’m sorry I made things so hard for you.” He paused. “For us.”
She bit her lower lip, then said, “Me, too.”
Logan finally stopped before her, his citrus cologne enveloping her. When he lifted a finger to caress her cheek, she contained the shiver of awareness. His voice was quiet when he said, “Wasn’t I lying to myself when I was convinced I didn’t need my family?”
Her breath caught. “Are you sure, Logan?”
He twined a strand of her hair between his fingers. “As sure as I’m standing here.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered, confident her heart wasn’t leading her wrong. Logan was the only man for her.
His eyes went solemn and he lifted her chin. Leaned down and brushed his lips over hers and she knew she’d come home. For good this time.
When he pulled away, she sighed. Then a thought occurred to her. “Who owns this place?”
He smiled. “Grandmother.”
“What?” she yelped.
He chuckled. “My grandmother saw potential in you, Serena, from the very start. She let you use the image of the cottage and the made-up stories for your products because of your genuine affection for the place and what it represents—love and family.”
Serena shook her head, dismayed. “She is one wily woman.”
“There’s no denying that. And just so you know, when she and Heidi plot together, it’s effective.”
“Heidi knew about the real owner of the cottage, too?”
“Not until today. We both found out together.”
“This town is full of secrets.”
Logan looped his arms around her waist, tugging her closer. “Which are everyone else’s problems. Right now, all I want to know is if we have a future together.”
She leaned into him. He was the man she’d always wanted. All her hopes and dreams rolled into one. And she was never letting go.
“I’m all yours.”
“To starting over,” he said, smiling, then sealed the vow with a kiss.
* * * * *
Don’t miss the next title in the
Meet Me at the Altar miniseries
from acclaimed author Tara Randel,
coming soon!
And for more charming, feel-good
romances visit Harlequin Heartwarming
at www.millsandboon.com.au today!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Falling for Her Bodyguard by Amy Vastine.
Falling for Her Bodyguard
by Amy Vastine
CHAPTER ONE
“OH, NO. NOT AGAIN.”
“They were here when I got in. I was going to warn you, but I didn’t want to ruin your morning.”
Kelly Bonner snatched the bright pink envelope that stuck out of the humongous bouquet of multicolored roses that overwhelmed the small office space at K104 Radio with their scent. She pulled out the card, knowing it wouldn’t shed much light on the sender. The flowers weren’t the first gift from an anonymous admirer to arrive at the radio station.
Pink symbolizes the happiness I feel when I think of you.
Lavender represents my love at first sight.
White reminds me of your purity.
Orange is for the deep desire I feel.
Red symbolizes the love we’ll share FOREVER.
A chill ran down her spine. Romantic words if they had been written by someone Kelly was in love with or even knew. These weren’t from a boyfriend. Kelly didn’t have one.
Another gift. Another note about them being in love. First, it had been the singing candy gram. She thought it was a joke, a prank courtesy of someone at the station. Then came the chocolate-covered strawberries, the earrings and the bottle of perfume. Something about these gifts and notes made her blood run cold.
She tossed the card down on the desk.
“No name again?” Nancy Oliver was the station’s production assistant and Kelly’s best friend. They had bonded when Nancy started as an intern around the same time Kelly landed her job as the afternoon on-air personality for the biggest country station in Nashville.
“Of course not. This guy wants to remain as creepy as he can.” Kelly tried to shake off the eerie feeling that overcame her every time one of these anonymous gifts showed up.
“I thought it was sort of romantic in the beginning. Now, I think it’s time to call your uncle. Maybe he can trace where the gifts are coming from, get you a name at least.”
“My uncle Hal has bigger fish to fry than some fan with a crush.”
Nancy adjusted her glasses. “Isn’t the advantage of having a cop for an uncle that he can scare away the stalkers?”
“He’s not a stalker. And knowing my uncle, I’d have a twenty-four-hour armed guard following me around for the rest of my life if he heard what was going on.” Kelly’s uncle was a captain for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. He was also extremely overprotective, always had been, but his sense of obligation to watch over her increased tenfold when Kelly’s dad died three years ago.
“When I was little, I wanted to be so famous that I’d have to have a bodyguard who would clear a path for me through the throngs of wild fans who would always be trying to get to me,” Nancy said.
“I only want fans who let me come to them through the radio. No bodyguard needed.” What Kelly needed was this guy to reveal himself so she could let him down easy and be done with the gifts. “I have a show to do. Feel free to take those home with you or throw them away. I don’t care which,” Kelly said, gathering her notes for today’s show.
“Kelly, Kelly, Kelly. How are we this fine afternoon?” Stan Benson was the station’s promotion director. His thinning blond hair was parted to best maximize coverage of his growing bald spot. “We have the first round of charity concert tickets to give away today. And good news... They agreed to let you onstage to kick things off.”
“Me? Not Travis and Holly?” Travis and Holly were the morning team, who were usually assigned the fun promotional gigs.
“When I talked to Dean Presley over at Grace Note, he said they were hoping you would do it. You always treat their artists well when they come in here for some press. He likes you. And why wouldn’t he? You’re our rising star.”
She liked the sound of that. With her contract ending soon, she’d been working tirelessly to gain listeners, asking for more opportunity to promote the station and get her name and face out there so she’d have some bargaining power when they discussed her renewal. Stan’s willingness to give her a chance was huge.
“Well, I appreciate the chance to support the station. I’ve been looking forward to that concert. To get to be a part of it is awesome.”
Stan grinned and was back on the move. “The more you’re in front of the public, the better,” he said over his shoulder before turning the corner.
Kelly was determined to do whatever it took. If they wanted her to make public appearances every day, she would. Working in radio was a dream come true and she planned to do this for the rest of her life if they’d let her. Maybe they would if things kept going the way they were. She entered the studio with an extra bounce in her step.
“Someone looks extra happy today,” Lyle Conrad, the show’s producer, said once she put on her headphones. He sat in the control room, separated from Kelly’s studio by a glass wall. Off-air, he could talk to her through the headset and on-air, he typed her messages through the computer. “Anything to do with those flowers out front? I didn’t know you were dating someone.”
“I’m not.” The thought of the flowers had the opposite effect on her mood. “I think I might have a misguided fan. One who thinks we’re destined to be together.”
“Ah. We’ve had a couple of those over the years a
round here. Don’t worry. Eventually, they get the hint and move on with their life.”
“Let’s hope so.” Kelly didn’t need the distraction. She didn’t even have time for a real boyfriend, so Mr. Anonymous was out of luck.
“Caller number ten wins two tickets to the sold-out Grace Note Records Concert for the Kids on Saturday, June twenty-ninth,” Kelly announced about halfway through the show. “We’re talking Sawyer Stratton and Piper Starling, the Good Ol’ Boys, Finch and Wells, and the one and only Boone Williams. This is not a show you’ll want to miss, Nashville.”
She clicked the button to play the commercial she had cued up before answering the calls as they came in. Clicking through the lines, she let the non-winners down easy. “Hi, you’re caller eight. Thank you. Bye. Hi, you’re caller nine. So close! Have a good one.”
She switched on the VoxPro recorder before clicking on the winner. These calls were prerecorded just in case someone got a bit too excited and said something not exactly FCC-approved. Lyle gave her the thumbs-up and she pressed the last blinking red light.
“Hello, you are caller ten and our winner!” Usually, callers hollered or screeched when they heard they won, but this one was quiet. Another reason to record these calls—it allowed Kelly the chance to edit it and remove the dead air. “Hello, can I get your name?”
“That depends,” the deep voice on the other end of the line replied. “Is this Kelly?”
Something about the way he said her name caused a shiver to run down her spine. “It is. Who is this?”
“Someone who’s been wondering if you’ve been receiving my gifts. It’s been very disappointing not to hear from you.”
Her secret admirer. Now was her chance to finally find out who he was. “I’ve gotten several gifts lately. I’ve been waiting for a name so I could thank you properly.”
“Which gift was your favorite?”
“That’s hard to say. I’d really like to know who you are.”
“Are you wearing the earrings I gave you?”
Kelly exchanged looks with Lyle. This guy wasn’t going to give up his name even for concert tickets. Her commercial break was almost over. There wasn’t time for all this creepy chitchat. Lyle typed her a message to put the call on hold so he could take over.
She did as Lyle suggested and turned the call over to him. Cutting their conversation short was the best option. Maybe being short with him would end this infatuation. Lyle messaged a few minutes later that the guy had hung up and the new winner was a very nice lady named Rhonda from Brentwood.
The rest of the show went off without a hitch. Kelly threw it to the next deejay and set her headset on the desk. She met Lyle in the hallway outside. He was tall and lanky with arms so long it was almost like he wouldn’t have to bend over to pick things up off the floor.
“Great show, Kel.”
“Thanks. Too bad we didn’t get the name of my secret admirer. I just want the gifts to stop.”
“You don’t have to worry about that guy anymore. Not only was he not happy when I took over the call, but he was downright annoyed when I told him you already had a boyfriend and weren’t interested in his gifts.”
“You what?”
“I solved your problem. Now, he thinks you have a boyfriend and maybe he’ll back off and start stalking someone else,” Lyle said with a shrug.
Kelly felt a calming sense of relief. “Let’s hope so. I mean, the part about him backing off, not the part about stalking some other woman.”
“I’m here to help whenever you need.”
“What about me, Lyle?” Nancy joined them in the hall. “Are you here to help me, too?”
Lyle’s cheeks flushed red. “Of course, Nancy. Do you have a stalker I can scare off?”
“You scared off Kelly’s stalker? Well, you’re our hero.” She touched his arm and his face got redder.
Kelly, Lyle and Nancy went to her office to plan for the next day’s show. When they finished, Kelly said goodbye to Nancy and she and Lyle headed out to the parking garage together.
“You and Nancy are close, right?” he asked as they entered the elevator.
“We are.”
“Do you think she’d ever be interested in getting dinner with someone like me?”
“Someone like you or the actual you?”
Lyle rolled his big blue eyes. “The actual me. I’m bad with rejection. If you could give me a heads-up on my chances, I would be forever in your debt.”
Kelly had suspected there was some interest on his side of things for a couple of months. He laughed at all of Nancy’s jokes. Especially the ones that weren’t even a little bit funny. He had memorized her coffee order even though it was some ridiculously long demand that would drive any barista to quit. And today, the man was completely flustered by a simple touch.
“Honestly, I don’t know, but I could ask.”
“Don’t be super obvious about it, though. If she’s not interested, I don’t want her to know I am.”
His fear of being vulnerable was relatable. Kelly wasn’t the biggest fan of being 100 percent up front about her feelings, either. Being open meant the possibility of being hurt. Being hurt was no fun. She would make sure Nancy knew nothing if there wasn’t a chance. “I’ve got your back on this one, buddy,” she assured him.
Instead of thanking her, Lyle stopped dead in his tracks.
“What’s the matter?”
“That’s your car, isn’t it?” He pointed behind her.
Kelly spun around and gasped. Both headlights had been smashed and on the hood of her car someone had keyed the word TEASE into the paint.
“This is my fault,” Lyle lamented.
Kelly’s heart beat double time and it was hard to breathe. She scanned the parking lot, fearing that her secret admirer turned hater was still nearby. No one else was around. The garage was eerily quiet. It was definitely time to call Uncle Hal.
Copyright © 2019 by Amy Vastine
millsandboon.com.au/survey2019
IMPRINT: Forever Romance
ISBN: 9781489289391
TITLE: TRUSTING HER HEART
First Australian Publication 2019
Copyright © 2019 Tara Randel
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